The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST – Free Report) by 16.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 167,100 shares of the company’s stock after selling 31,741 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Vistra were worth $26,507,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new stake in Vistra in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Strive Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
VST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Vistra from $222.00 to $221.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Zacks Research cut shares of Vistra from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Vistra from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. BNP Paribas Exane set a $255.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Vistra from $212.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $223.53.
Vistra Trading Up 0.7%
Vistra stock opened at $148.12 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a one year low of $132.66 and a one year high of $219.82. The business’s fifty day moving average is $148.81 and its 200 day moving average is $154.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.71 billion, a PE ratio of 25.02 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.87.
Vistra (NYSE:VST – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.85). The business had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.46 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 108.68% and a net margin of 11.55%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 9.21 EPS for the current year.
Vistra Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.54%.
Trending Headlines about Vistra
Here are the key news stories impacting Vistra this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Vistra priced $850 million of Series A and $650 million of Series B junior subordinated notes due 2057. Proceeds will support general corporate purposes and could be used to redeem outstanding preferred stock, potentially improving the capital structure. Vistra Prices Registered Offering of $1.5 Billion of Junior Subordinated Notes
- Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain optimistic about Vistra’s growth prospects. Hedging, long-term power contracts, its diversified generation portfolio and rising electricity demand from data centers, industrial activity and electrification support earnings visibility. The Cogentrix acquisition and long-term nuclear agreements with Meta and Amazon Web Services are additional potential catalysts. Vistra: Cogentrix and Meta Can Offset a Softer ERCOT Outlook
- Positive Sentiment: Wall Street’s consensus view remains favorable, with a Moderate Buy rating and price targets generally well above the recent trading range. Commentators cite improving EBITDA expectations and potential upside to management’s outlook. Vistra Receives Consensus Recommendation of Moderate Buy
- Neutral Sentiment: Executive Vice President Scott Hudson sold 44,444 shares worth approximately $6.75 million. Because the transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, it is a limited signal of management’s current outlook. SEC Insider Transaction Filing
- Negative Sentiment: The notes increase Vistra’s financing obligations while the company already has substantial leverage, reflected in a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87. Investors may also be concerned about softer ERCOT conditions and the additional leverage associated with the Cogentrix acquisition. VST Stock Outperforms Industry in the Past Three Months
Insider Transactions at Vistra
In other news, Director John Sult sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $1,105,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 70,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,021,380. The trade was a 8.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Scott Hudson sold 44,444 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.82, for a total transaction of $6,747,488.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 331,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,273,219.34. This trade represents a 11.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 76,188 shares of company stock valued at $11,889,820. Company insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.
Vistra Company Profile
Vistra Corp. is an integrated energy company headquartered in Irving, Texas. The company operates electricity generation and retail energy businesses, serving residential, commercial, industrial and wholesale customers primarily across the United States.
Vistra’s generation portfolio includes natural gas, nuclear, coal, solar and battery energy storage facilities. Through its retail operations, the company provides electricity, natural gas and renewable energy plans under brands that include TXU Energy, Dynegy, Homefield Energy and Ambit Energy.
The company was established in 2016 following the separation of Energy Future Holdings’ competitive energy businesses.
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